The Bible is very clear about gossip. I found fourteen specific mentions of gossip in Scripture. A couple of Old Testament highlights…

      “Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people.” Leviticus 19:16

      They visit me as if they were my friends,but all the while they gather gossip,and when they leave, they spread it everywhere. Psalm 41:6
     
      A troublemaker plants seeds of strife; gossip separates the best of friends.  Proverbs 16:28

      Paul reveals how seriously he ranks gossip when he includes the act of gossip in this not so attractive menu of sins.

      Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
      Romans 1:29

Seriously, do most of us lump gossip in with hate, murder and deception? Paul does. The church at Corinth also had an ugly list of problems and gossip made the list.
  
      For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy,      anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.  2 Corinthians 12:20

If Paul were to write a letter to the modern church he would surely include gossip in his list of rebukes. A follower of Jesus certainly should not spread gossip any further. Gossip is a parasite that requires a host organism to survive. Don't give gossip a place to live.

Solomon wrote this in Proverbs. Fire goes out without wood,and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. Proverbs 26:20      

Think of how many times you have believed something to be true only to find out the information was mostly or even totally wrong. I find it interesting that the threat of a libel or slander lawsuit will cause us to be cautious about our remarks in the public square. How naive that we think it is okay to denigrate a child of God and somehow think that there are no repercussions to that action. Are we really more concerned about the People's Court than the Kingdom's Court? Pastor Rick Warren makes a great point when he says that "The problem with Christians is that we take ourselves too seriously and we don't take God seriously enough."  

God takes seriously how we communicate about others in the flock. Peter said to "Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless-that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing". 1 Peter 3:8-9 (MsgB) So there is an added bonus for your Godly communication…a blessing at no extra charge.
  
Pastor Jim Cymbala of Brooklyn Tabernacle writes how his church handles the topic of gossip.